Monday, February 01, 2010

At least once per year, one of your library's catalogers should walk up to the reference desk and shank a reference librarian with a letter opener. These public shows of aggression will earn you the respect of your colleagues and help maintain the social order in your library.

Catalogers actually know what's in the collection and where it's located. If I had a nickel for every time a reference librarian asked me if we had [Title X] and where it might be, I could have retired years ago.

Oh, I respect the cataloger. There has to be a serious problem for me to call, for I fear their OCD-driven conniptions even over the phone when I find a label mistake. (They are a critical bunch...and it's not as if I go looking for these errors!)